It is common for people to suffer from itching at one point of time or the other. That is, under the watch strap, shirt cuff, tight ring, tight belt, areas where we sweat more, overgrown hairy area or while wearing unclean socks / under garments or when exposed to dust / chemical or from creeping insects or insect bites. These external factors will go off immediately if one eases the situation by giving a gentle scratch or rub. But the feeling of itchy caused due to the presence of internal diseases or allergic tendencies will not go off so easily. Here the itch makes one scratch more, which in turn leads to more itching and it becomes a cycle. Ultimately, one feels like there is a monster inside the body.

Commonly, itch refers to scabies infection. But actually, itch medically means skin disorder. Itching is an unpleasant sensation on the skin that provokes the desire to rub or scratch the affected area to clear the sensation or feeling. Itching can occur anywhere in the body other than the internal organs which do not have touch sensitive nerve fibres. In the nose, the itching sensation will cause sneezing, in the eyes, it causes watery eyes, in the throat it causes hawking or cough and on the skin, itching will cause redness and flare and may lead to eczema or dermatitis. The most common but tough curable itch (skin disorders) are eczema and psoriasis.

Reason for itching – The ultimate reason for itching is to throw away the irritant (either internal or external) that annoys the part. The action may be a violent scratch or gentle rub of the part with or without nails. Since itching causes a very uncomfortable condition, the brain gives an impulse in a fraction of a second to the respective authority (hand or leg or the parts involved) to take necessary action to ease the affected part from the irritants. As all these mechanisms work to expel the disease force or foreign substance and prevent the disease from entering the body, itching can also be considered one of nature’s defence mechanism. In case of disease, itching will occur as one of the major symptoms. Itching can occur both in the initial stages and in the healing stages of the disease. In the initial stages, it occurs as a symptom and in healing stage, itching acts as a defence mechanism to root out the healed part of skin, since the falling healed swab will be identified as a foreign substance by the brain due to its loss of blood supply, dryness and peeling nature.

Incidences – Itching can occur anywhere in the body for anyone at any time. Depending upon the intensity of suffering and circumstances, adults can control itching without scratching, whereas children scratch immediately as it requires. Usually, itching tends to be worse in hot temperate climates, at night, after sweating, after undressing, after bath, etc. The commonest sites for itching are the scalp (dandruff, lice), beard (barbers itch), anus (pruritus ani), vagina (pruritus vulvae), groin (jock itch), body itch after bath (swimmer’s itch), in farmers ‘rice paddy itch’, etc.

Causes – The causes are innumerable i.e. from using soap, using unclean socks, to life- threating disease like cancer – all can cause itching. The most common causes are dryness and irritants (either chemicals or insects). The causes may be internal or external, likewise, localised or generalised.

The chemical cause for the itching in our body is mainly due to the histamine release in that area.

Symptoms – It may be localised or generalised, i.e. in single part (as in palm or fingers or head or groin) or throughout the body. The common symptoms are:

Unpleasant feeling – tickling, pricking, creeping, annoying

Uncontrollabe scratching

Burning pain after scratching

Restlessness and irritability, causing disturbances in work and sleep

Diagnosis – Examination of the skin usually helps only when there is a localised cause. Also, the itchy part will be seen as scratched, injured, ulcerated part, so the exact picture of itch presentation will be mostly masked. The cause of itch can be analysed with skin swab and its culture. The other common investigation which helps to analyse the cause are – Tc, Dc, Esr, Hb, absolute eosinophil count, blood sugar, liver function test (especially bilirubin), urea, creatinine and thyroid function tests.

COMPLICATIONS – Itching as such won’t produce any complication i.e. if one resists the temptation to scratch or manages temporarily with just simple and slight rub, to stop the itching temporarily. But when itching gets suppressed with ointments or is scratched with nails or gets infected in the scratched area, then complications begin. The first and foremost one is burning pain as if the injured skin is rubbed against chillies. Also, since it arises mostly as a subjective feeling with uncontrollable character, it won’t let one concentrate on any other activity. It can also develop into sleep disorder. Itching can also lead to eczema or other skin disorders. Even though it is bothersome, unless otherwise suppressed, it won’t lead to serious illnesses.

GENERAL TREATMENT – Mostly no one goes to a doctor just for itching, in initial stages. They would ignore / manage with simple talcum or prickly heat powders or skin soothing / smoothening lotions (calamine). But recurrent and persistent bouts of itching often compel one to opt for treatment. Modern school of medicines usually prescribe anti- histamines with Vit C supplements. Sometimes, in violent itching cases, they also prescribe steroids either as a topical cream or as oral tablets depending upon the localised or generalised presence of itching. Anyway, each one has its own adverse effects. Phototherapy / UV rays therapy are also often tried to manage the situation.

HOMEOPATHIC APPROACH – Saying is easy and following is tough. This is wholly true about itching. Everyone who advises to stop itching does not realise the actual discomfort of the sufferer. Likewise, the pleasure of scratching (?) cannot be understood by others as it is felt by the sufferers. The sufferer will be led to great frustration if one attempts to suppress the temptation to scratch.

Itching is apparently suppressed by the modern school of medicines by just applying artificial moisturiser or having allergic (anti-histamines) medicines or supplementing vitamins and minerals. This palliative type of treatment works for that day only and also usually drives the disease inner or deeper to cause structural damages. Till the itch remains on the surface, it seems it is going away, but when it is arrested or suppressed, it will burst inside. This can be seen in many cases. For example, some may get asthma when suppressing eczema, some would get fits when suppressing itching rashes, some would have inner organs affected while suppressing the itch just with ointments or anti-histamines. In many cases, itching rebounds with greater intensity after being suppressed. Also, if the suppression type of treatment is followed for quite a long time, then it is not only tough to cure the case, but also difficult to treat or manage its side-effects which may endanger life.

Skin complaints are the toughest to treat, since skin is the outer most part of the body and more prone to exposure to irritants which hinder the healing process. The rational treatment should always be directed towards the cause of the disease rather than suppressing or eliminating the effects. Internal Homeopathic medicines can clear the persisting condition once and for all, but it needs some time, i.e., one should have patience to enjoy the benefit. In Homeopathy, Miasm Psora is meant for itch which is the base or start-up of any disease. With Homeopathy, the whole disease could be annihilated without any side-effects.

Homeopathic medicines commonly used for itch are Acid nit, Apis mel, Cantharis, Graphites, Hepar sulph, Merc sol, Nat mur, Petroleum, Psorinum, Radium Brom, Rhus tox, Sarasaparilla, Silicea, Staphysagria, Sulphur, Tellurium, Thuja, Zinc met, etc. Even though, there are lots and lots of drugs in homeopathy for itch, the main stalwarts are Sulphur and Psorinum. These Medicines should be taken under the advice and diagnosis of a qualified Homeopath.

(Disclaimer - The contents of this column are for informational purpose only. The content is not intended to be a substitute for professional healthcare advice, diagnosis, or treatment. Always seek the advice of healthcare professional for any health problem or medical condition.)

Disclaimer: Laxmi Homeo Clinic is intending to make the people all over the world healthier through the power of information. Our health information and technologies can make a healthier tomorrow and better healthcare outcomes. The contents of this column are for informational purpose only. The content is not intended to be a substitute for professional healthcare advice, diagnosis, or treatment. Always seek the advice of healthcare professional for any health problem or medical condition.